


How have we started on this great adventure?

by story_forger643



Series: Family is broken by blood, healed by friends. (aka I read "WHAT GOOD NAME" on Discord and did this with it) [1]
Category: Girl Genius (Webcomic)
Genre: Adoption, Afghanistan war, Bombs, But it turns out okay, CPS not doing things well, Car Accidents, Character Death, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Coming Out, Divorce, Don't worry, Drug Dealing, F/F, F/M, Family Issues, Foster Care, Hugs, Kidnapping, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Nightmares, Physical Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sad, Self-Discovery, Suicide, Trans Female Character, Trans Sleipnir O'Hara, Trans Von Pinn, a good number of the jaegers may be dogs, and yes the jaegers have lots of dogs, at least mentions of it, but grandma is good, don't worry guys this is just the setup, is stealing kids from a shitty situation really kidnapping?, martellus and seffie's dad is really fucked up, sorta - Freeform, their parents were never mentioned so they get a fucked-up backstory, this was the best i could come up with for a heterodyne backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22984432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/story_forger643/pseuds/story_forger643
Summary: This is how it starts. Family is separated. People drift apart. People do bad things to others. Bad things happen. That starts all journeys.Or, the Girl Genius modern AU that is somewhat based off the "WHAT GOOD NAME" AU on Discord, but with more backstory and character development and I cut some of the D&D just to focus on this world.Did anyone ask for this? No! Did I do it anyway? Of course I did!
Relationships: All of them - Relationship, be it platonic or romantic - Relationship, just assume that everyone who interacts has some sort of relationship with eachother
Series: Family is broken by blood, healed by friends. (aka I read "WHAT GOOD NAME" on Discord and did this with it) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1651807
Comments: 10
Kudos: 14





	1. Gil and Zeetha

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to write from a toddler perspective here, so I hope it's okay.

_Gil was two years old._

_He was so very, very happy._

_He had his Mommy, his Dada, and his twin sister, Zeetha, who was playing blocks with him on the floor. She threw one to him, and fell over forward in doing so. Gil laughed, and smiled._

_Then they heard loud noises coming from the kitchen. Mommy and Dada were fighting again. It was loud, and it had been happening a lot recently. Gil propped himself up on his two little toddler legs and walked over to the kitchen._

_He didn’t know what was said, but he knew that Dada said something very loud, and then Mommy, and then Dada threw something on the floor, and Mommy got very quiet and scary. Then Dada walked away._

_Dada threw the door open, sending Gil flying onto his butt. Gil hit the floor and started to cry. Zeetha started to go to him, but Dada picked Gil up first. He then ran up to Gil’s room, threw some clothes in a bag, and put his coat on. He walked downstairs, and put Gil’s shoes on._

_“Dada? Where we go?” Gil asked, an innocent smile on his face._

_“Away.” Dada was very serious, like after that time when Gil had fallen down the stairs when Mommy was with them. That was bad._

_“Zeetha come too?” Gil was excited, he loved going places with his sister._

_Dada sighed. “No, Gil, this is just us.”_

_They went out to the car, and Gil began crying. “Zeetha! Want Zeetha!”_

_“No, Gil, no Zeetha! She’s not coming!” Dada snapped, he was very angry._

_“Oh. Kay.” Gil started to cry._

_“Hey, easy there, son. How about I stop and get you some candy?”_

_Gil sniffled, looking up hopefully. “A giant pop?”_

_Dada smiled, but looked sad. “Yes Gil, a giant pop.”_

_And they drove away._

* * *

_Years later they lived in an apartment in a different country, just the two of them, and Gil didn’t even remember Zeetha. All he remembered was something else being there, and then it was gone._

_He decided that he must have lost his favorite toy. His father never said otherwise._

* * *

_  
Zeetha looked out the window, crying for Gil. She went out the window and stared, waiting for the minivan to come back every day for the next five years._

_But when she was eight, she realized that she wasn’t going to see Gil again. So she cried, and her mother cried, and then they moved on. They went to live in America, ironically in the same city that Chump always dreamed of taking them to to live in._

_That’s about when Zeetha started dying her hair green and asked her mother to teach her to martial arts, specifically the kind involving swords._

_Years later, she still remembered Gil. How could she forget her best friend?_


	2. Violetta and Tarvek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violetta misses her family. She wants them back.
> 
> Tarvek hates his family, but loves his sister(s?). He will love them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought the last one was sad? Well, this one is gonna kill you. Since we never see Violetta's parents in cannon, I had to come up with a reason why she is how she is, and what better way to do that then a horrible accident?

_ Violetta’s first memories are of joy. She is four years old, happy, her parents in the front seat of the car, her dad singing badly and her mom laughing at it.  _

_ Her dad says “You know you love me for my singing, don’t try to deny it.” _

_ Her mom responds with, “Not for your singing.” _

_ Then they kiss, and then a horn honks, and they jerk their heads to the sides. There is a loud crash, and then silence and darkness. _

_ Violetta has no other memories of her parents. They didn’t survive the accident. _

* * *

_ Tarvek is smart. He knows that when Aunt and Uncle Mondarev didn’t show up for Thanksgiving that something was wrong, but he didn’t expect them to be dead. _

_ But he still sat in the courtroom with his sister, as Grandma battled for custody of Violetta with his father. In the end, his father won. _

_ Tarvek wishes he didn’t, because as much of a pain in the ass as Grandma may be, it had to be better than his family. _

_ But he tried. He and Anevka tried to make Violetta feel as safe as possible in her new home, even if she hated it. _

* * *

_ Violetta hates everyone. _

_ Why did they have to die? Why did she have to go with Tarvek and Anevka? It would have been easier to go in foster care than to stay with her family, especially the pain-in-the-ass portion that lived in Generic City, Washington State. But noooo, she had to be stuck with them, with Tarvek’s nerdiness and Anevka’s...Anevka-ness. _

_ She was angry. So, so angry. Uncle Aaronev told her to be calm, to not cry. So she didn’t, and she became angry. Uncle Aaronev began to hate her for that, so she took it out on Tarvek. _

_ And continued hating everyone, and wished for a friend. Just someone to talk to that wasn’t family. _

* * *

_ Tarvek could have easily dodged Violetta’s attacks; he was almost a year older than her, after all. But he didn’t. Because even then he understood that she needed some way to not be angry, and if it took him suffering for her not to, then it was worth it. _

_ So Tarvek sucks it up, and continues to love Violetta, because for all legal purposes, he is her brother and she is his sister, and that’s what family is supposed to do. And even though their family is different and messed up, Tarvek wants to believe that if he loves Violetta and Anevka and doesn’t kill Tweedle or Seffie, then they will end up less messed up than the rest. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so a lot of these chapters will be sad. Some might be less sad, or at least have happier endings. Agatha's is gonna be shit, but she will get a happy ending to her beginning.
> 
> Yet again, please give advice/feedback.
> 
> Aight I have to do homework now


	3. Bang and Moloch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Omar went out to the war, and Moloch followed. Neither of them knew what would happen.
> 
> Bang just wanted the world to swallow her up whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is...pretty rough guys. So there's death and blood and like, a fucking war so please approach with caution. But I needed to give Moloch and Omar backstory, and since they were both soldiers in cannon, I did this.
> 
> Bang just kind of...showed up. Some of it may be inaccurate or unrealistic, but this felt like a good way to introduce Bang (also I only have the patience to write so much backstory)

_ Moloch had eight brothers. All on a farm. They grew up together, always sticking with each other. They promised to each other that if one of them was going to be in danger, at least one other person had to go with it. _

_ So when Omar told them that he was signing up for the war in Afghanistan, Moloch joined right with him. They said goodbye to the farm, and to the other brothers and went to cross the ocean. _

_ It was the biggest mistake they could have ever made. _

_ They hadn’t been in active combat for that long, only a few months, when they were given a mission to take a town held by the Taliban. Omar was with a different squadron, who would attack from the North. Moloch was to attack with his group from the West. _

_ Only two hours into the battle did they find each other. Moloch remembers, they were pinned down, and he saw his brother’s squadron about fifty feet over. While Moloch’s team may have been in a tight spot, they had a lot more cover and leverage to shoot than Omar’s team, and they wanted to get them to safety. _

_ So Moloch left the spot for a few seconds, just a few seconds, and his brother’s squadron bolted over. And they saw each other and stuck together for the rest of the battle. _

_ Not long after the Taliban began to pull back, Moloch and Omar were told to patrol a street nearby to check for enemy troopers. As they were walking along, Omar saw something moving behind a few bodies. A young girl, no older than seven, was trembling, crying over one of the bloodied bodies of whom Moloch could only assume belonged to her parents. _

_ Omar went out to get her, but as he approached, she began shouting at him, holding her hands out, pointing to the ground. Omar tried to reassure her and kept walking. _

_ Moloch then realized what was going on. The girl was shouting a warning, pointing at the ground. It must be a weapon, and IED, or something. _

_ “OMAR, GET BACK!” _

_ Moloch yelled as loud as he could, but it was too late. The bomb exploded, and Omar was gone. _

* * *

_ Bang was so, so young when the attacks came. Her parents were killed within hours of the battle starting. She remembers trying to wake them up before realizing they were gone for good. She remembers crying over the bodies, wishing for the world to just swallow her up whole. _

_ But she mostly remembers the soldier. As he walked towards her, she noticed him and remembered the bomb that the other fighters, whom her father had called the Bad Ones, had buried in the ground. The American was walking right towards it. _

_ Bang yelled, trying to get him to stop, but she didn’t know English at the time, and the soldier kept coming forward, and then there was an explosion, and the world went black. _

* * *

_ Bang woke up in a bed in an American camp. She told them what she knew, how her family was gone, and she tried to save the soldier. _

_ Then the man in the corner spoke up. He talked to the translator and commander for a moment, then turned to her. _

_ He said something in English, which meant “that was my brother. I know you tried to save him. I’m sorry about your family. I can take care of you now.” _

_ He had lost his right foot in the blast, and was willing to adopt Bang, help create papers for her, and take her home with him to the United States. He said “you’re all that I have left. My family back home hates me for being a soldier, and my brother is gone.” _

* * *

  
_ It was hard at first, but eventually they made a home for themselves. Moloch helped Bang learn English and learned some Pashto from Bang, and began working as a mechanic for the school district. Bang went to school and learned martial arts and English and taught Moloch Pashto, and they became family. _

_ Years later they still remembered Omar and Bang’s family, but the pain didn’t hurt as much anymore. Bang loved her new father and Moloch loved his crazy, pirate-obsessed child. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you it would hurt, but hey, at least they both get family.
> 
> As per always, please give feedback and advice.
> 
> i'm gonna go program a website now


	4. Zulenna, Theo, and the Wulfenbach students

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo has lost it all, but maybe he can have a home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to include the Wulfenbach students somehow, so here we are! Also, Zulenna is slightly emotionally neglected, cause her family can't emotion.

_Theo never really knew his parents, or his family. All he knows is that his father was a scientist and his mother and aunts were terrible._

_His mother died when he was two years old. She never got along with his aunts, they lost contact when he was around three, so neither took him in. He lived with his father until he was about four, when he died, a bullet in his head._

_Then came foster care. Bouncing around from home to home for years, years of bad homes and rejection and loneliness and two borderline abusive home, until finally he was adopted by the Luzhaknas just before his seventh birthday._

_He remembers walking into their big house for the first time, with only a rolling suitcase and a small backpack, filled with an old picture book and a stuffed animal, a dirty cloth for cleaning his broken glasses, three sets of clothes, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a pair of pajamas, and a clockwork snake his aunt had given to him at his Christening. A dog ran up to greet him, but Mr. Luzhakna called it off, and took Theo upstairs._

_He walked into his room, three times the size of anything he’d had at the foster homes, and he didn’t even have to share it with anyone. There was a desk, a bed, a large dresser, several shelves, one already with several books and toys, and an iPod hooked up to a speaker._

_Mr. Luzhakna gave him the ground rules; be polite and respectful (Theo had already learned that one from a very strict home), bathe or shower at least once every two days (before he would be lucky for two baths a week), keep the room somewhat organized, don’t play music too loud, and a new set of clothes every two days minimum._

_Theo told Mr. Luzhakna that he only had four sets of clothes, including what he was wearing. Mr. Luzhaka squatted down, put his hand on Theo’s shoulder and said, “then tomorrow we’ll buy you new clothes, as many as you want, and I’ll take you to the bookstore and anywhere else you want.”_

_Theo was shocked when he heard this. “Thank you, sir, but there is no need for that.”_

_Mr. Luzhakna laughed. “Nonsense. We have adopted you, you are family now. I will make sure you have the best life you can.”_

_Theo felt like it was too good to be true._

* * *

_Theo was right._

_He hadn’t known that getting a new sister was part of the deal._

_Zulenna had the bedroom down the hall. It was full of toys, all kinds of things, mostly pirates and a few princesses. Zulenna was obsessed with_ The Princess Bride, _and was learning how to fence, hence the half-dozen swords and two fencing outfits she possessed, along with a practice dummy. A large wardrobe held many clothes, and on one of her shelves there was a cage with a rabbit in it._

_Zulenna saw Theo and screamed. “I have to live with that?!”_

_Theo shrunk away, but remembered to stand tall, back straight. He apologized._

_Then Mr. Luzhakna came. “Zulenna, I am going to talk to you for a minute. Theo, to your room.”_

_“My...yes, of course, sir.” Theo ran to his room, scared of what was going to happen._

* * *

_They had dinner, and Mrs. Luzhakna was appalled at Theo’s lack of table manners and willingness to take enough food. “Young man, don’t you know how to eat properly?”_

_Theo gulped. He didn’t, but he’d have to guess. “Uh, eat fast, take little so others can get some? Don’t make a mess.”_

_Mrs. Luzhakna was taken aback for a minute. “Ah, no. Back straight, napkin, no elbows on the table, don’t scarf your food.”_

_“But…”_

_“And you can have as much as you like. There are only four of us eating here tonight?”_

_“Ah. Okay.” Theo paused. “What do you mean by ‘tonight’?”_

_“We have a big family, they often come over for dinner, as they are all local. We go over to their houses too, like Grandma’s for Thanksgiving.” Zulenna then paused. “Have you ever been to Thanksgiving?”_

_“Zulenna!”_

_“No, no sir. It’s okay to ask.” Theo took a deep breath. “Only once, with my mother. But after she died, my father was too sad to cook most nights, let alone have a big meal. One of the foster homes I was at never really fed us anyway, and the other time I was sick.”_

_“Oh. Okay.” The table was silent for a minute. “Well, you’ll never have to worry about that again. We always have enough to eat, and if times ever get hard, we can always go to Grandma’s.”_

_Theo grinned._

* * *

_“Theo, what on Earth are you doing?”_

_Theo stopped in his tracks, desperately trying to conceal the bread roll up his sleeve. “Ah, nothing?”_

_“What nonsense. What are you doing with that food?”_

_“Taking it for later, Mrs. Luzhakna. In case I’m hungry when it’s not meal time?”_

_“Oh. Well, in this house, you can eat whenever you are hungry, as long as it’s in the kitchen or the dining room, or we say otherwise.”_

_Theo put the bread roll back on the counter and grinned. “Thank you, ma’am.”_

* * *

_“DAD, NO!”_

_Theo bolted up in bed, screaming, only to immediately clamp his hand over his mouth. No point in waking the others up._

_Too late. Zulenna ran in minutes later, her parents behind her. “What was that?”_

_“Nothing.” Theo laid back down. “It won’t happen again, promise.”_

_“Alright. Go back to sleep, now. Big day tomorrow, I have a surprise for you.”_

_They left and turned out the light. Theo fell back asleep, dreaming about what kind of surprise Mr. Luzhakna had for him._

* * *

_The next day, they went out and bought Theo new clothes, collared shirts, long pants and shorts, a new coat, even a tie and new shoes! Theo had never had much more than sweatpants and t-shirts, and had been wearing the same shoes for over a year. He was amazed at how they could do such a nice thing for him._

_Then to the toy store, where Theo got a few Lego sets, a big plastic dinosaur, and a SnapCircuits builder set. And then, he asked to stop at the hardware store, where he got a hammer, a small saw, and his own screwdriver set._

_Finally, his new family said they had one last surprise for him. Theo was super excited, he had waited all day for this. But as they turned into the pet store, Theo was confused. “What are we doing here?”_

_“Well, dear…” Mrs. Luzhakna started._

_“Since I have a rabbit, we’re gonna get you a pet too!”_

_“Zulenna, don’t spoil the surprise!” But Mr. Luzhakna was laughing as he said it. “But she’s right, Theo. Pick anything out of this store, it’s yours.”_

_Theo’s eyes grew wide. “Promise?”_

_“Yes, we promise.”_

_Theo grinned and ran into the store, eager to pick out his new companion._

_He ran down the aisles for only a minute before he arrived at the reptiles. Theo pressed his face up against the glass and looked at one of the tanks, with about a half a dozen small lizards in it._

_One of them was small, in the corner, but looked strong. Like Theo. “I want that one!”_

_And so they walked out of Petco with a bearded dragon, whom Theo named T’Otheron._

* * *

_Theo had another nightmare that night, but instead of the whole family showing up this time, it was just Zulenna._

_“I’m sorry I was mean to you when you first got here. I guess I was worried that Mom and Dad wouldn’t care as much about me if I had a brother.”_

_“Hey, it’s okay. I’m honestly blown away by all this. I mean, new clothes, toys, even my own pet. I never even thought I would be able to have shoes that fit me.”_

_“You do now. And you can have a lot more. Just never break the rules around guests.”_

_“Why around guests?”_

_Zulenna shuddered. “Mom and Dad are great, but when you act out in front of guests or in public, it makes it harder to keep an image up, so they want you to always be polite. And never tell them you feel bad. They’ll just brush it off.”_

_“Oh.” Theo realized that yes, it was too good to be true, but maybe still good enough. “Well, that’s easy. I’ve been doing that my whole life.”_

_“Yeah, it’s easy to once you get the hang of it.” Zulenna paused, and looked at him. “What was the nightmare about?”_

_“Huh?”_

_“Just because you can’t talk about feeling things with Mom and Dad doesn’t mean you can’t talk about them with me.”_

_Theo took a deep breath. “My...dad...when he died, I was there. I saw him shoot himself in the head.” He started to cry. “He told me he loved me, that it would be okay, and then he was gone.” He began to sob. “I still have nightmares. I feel like...I could have saved him.”_

_“Do you want a hug?”_

_“Oh.” Theo was surprised at the gesture. “Sure.”_

_Zulenna hugged him. It was the first time Theo had been hugged in two years. He hugged her back, very tightly, not wanting to ever let go._

* * *

_Theo still had nightmares, but whenever that happened, he found that Zulenna would often help him, and it made it easier. He started going to school, and began to get really into building things._

_He went to Zulenna’s fencing lessons and found that her friends there were all like that as well. Gil and Tarvek were inseparable, and great at coming up with ideas. Theo made really good friends with people like Z and Nick, and a few others._

_But mostly he found that he really got along well with Sleipnir O’Hara, the mechanic’s daughter._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, a happy ending! And trust me, Zulenna's parents are not perfect, they can't deal with emotions, so Zulenna steps up for her new brother.
> 
> as always, feedback and advice plz
> 
> k i gotta go study before i fail chemistry


	5. Sleipnir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter always knew something was different, but could never quite figure it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted at least one trans character to semi-project onto (I'm FTM). I figured, hey, why not Sleipnir?  
> alsoicouldntthinkofbackstoryforherbutneverminfthat
> 
> As for Von Pinn, I needed an elder trans person to help Sleipnir figure out her identity, so Von Pinn!
> 
> Trigger warnings for mentions of abuse.
> 
> Enjoy!

_~~Peter~~ _ _was four years old when_ _~~he~~ _ _realized there was something different about_ _~~him~~ _ _._

_~~He~~ _ _didn’t like playing tag with the other boys, and would always rather play with the girls and talk about dolls and stuff. And whenever they decided to play “Boys vs. Girls”,_ _~~Peter~~ _ _always chose to play on the girls’ team._

_But when_ _~~he~~ _ _was five,_ _~~his~~ _ _father decided that_ _he_ _shouldn’t be acting that way, and began to get very angry._ _~~Peter~~ _ _didn’t understand, all_ _~~he~~ _ _wanted was to feel normal._

_So_ _~~he~~ _ _talked to one of the fencing instructors at_ _~~his~~ _ _dad’s work, and told her about the feelings and the dreams where_ _~~Peter~~ _ _would wake up as a girl and be happy._

_The instructor, Von Pinn, listened, and then smiled. “Let me tell you a story,” she said, “I once felt that way. As a kid, I would have given anything to wake up as a girl one day.”_

_This confused_ _~~Peter~~ _ _. “But you are a girl.”_

_Von Pinn smiled. “Not always. See, when I was born, I was born...how to explain this to a four-year-old...I guess some would say I was a girl born in a boy’s body. I was raised as a boy, and hated it. I didn’t understand my feelings and wanted to die. But then I learned something.”_

_Von Pinn turned to_ ~~_Peter_~~ _. “Have you heard the word ‘transgender’?”_

_“No.”_

_“Ah. Well then, transgender basically means that you are the opposite sex as the one you were assigned at birth based on your genitals.”_

_“Gen-ee-tals?”_

_Von Pinn sighed. “Your private parts. Like, you were born with female parts but want to be male, or-”_

_“You were born with boy parts and want to be a girl.” This explained a lot to_ _~~Peter~~ _ _._

_“Crude way of putting it, but yes.” Von Pinn got up. “I have to go work now.”_

_“Wait!”_ _~~Peter~~ _ _was desperate to stop her. “How do I know if I’m really a girl?”_

_“It’s a gut feeling, child.” And with that, Von Pinn left_ _~~Peter~~ _ _to think on what_ _~~he~~ _ _had just learned._

* * *

_~~Peter~~ _ _stood in the bathroom, looking at the mirror, thinking. What would it mean to be a girl? Well,_ _~~he~~ _ _certainly wouldn’t be a “he” anymore._

_~~Peter~~ _ _looked in the mirror, and began talking. “Not he, she.”_

_She looked at herself and smiled. She kept repeating it over and over under her breath, “she, she, she.”_

* * *

_Two weeks later,_ _~~Peter~~ _ _took a deep breath as she walked downstairs. “Mummy, Papa, I have something I want to tell you.” Too late to turn back now._

_Mummy sat up and smiled. “What is it, son?”_

_Seeing the confusion in his child’s face, Papa got worried. “What’s wrong, champ?”_

_“That’s the thing. I’m not your son.”_ _~~Peter~~ _ _stopped at that, and took a breath. “I talked to Von Pinn when you took me to work a few weeks ago, Papa, and she told me about how she used to be a boy, but then she realized she was really a girl. I think I’m like that too.”_

_The next thing_ ~~_Peter_~~ _knew, she was curled up on the floor, holding her cheek crying while Mummy screamed at Papa and he ran out the door._

* * *

~~_Peter_~~ _was still crying. The place where Papa had hit her all those hours ago had begun to form into a nasty bruise. Papa had never tried to hurt anyone before, he was always so calm and collected and kind, and this really hurt._

_Mama was there, holding her, as she cried and cried and cried. Then they heard the door open._

_“Stay here.” Mummy went out the room, and to the front door._ _~~Peter~~ _ _waited for a moment, then followed closely behind. As she stayed behind the wall, she could see Mummy yelling at Papa, who had several bruises on him, until Papa stopped paying attention to Mummy and turned...to her._

_~~Peter~~ _ _prepared to run, but Papa grabbed her arm, and said “I am so, so sorry.” He then pulled her into a hug and picked her up._

_“I screwed up so much, kid. I should never have hurt you, I should have listened and helped you but instead I got angry for no reason. You didn’t ask for that, you just wanted to be you and I couldn’t bring myself to respect that so I hurt you. I promise I’ll never hurt you again.” He put her down, and kneeled, his hand on her shoulder. “Can you ever forgive me?”_

_~~Peter~~ _ _sniffed. She was scared, but Papa looked like he was okay, and like he meant it. “‘Kay,” she sniffled._

_“Okay.” Then he hugged her again. Then Mummy hugged them both, and_ _~~Peter~~ _ _started to cry._

_When the hug finally ended, Papa looked at_ _~~Peter~~ _ _. “So, sweetie, I went to work and talked to Von Pinn. We don’t think that your old name is a good fit for you, do you?”_

_~~Peter~~ _ _smiled. “No.”_

_“How about Sleipnir, after your great-grandmother?”_

_“Who was she?”_

_Mummy bent down. “Sweetie, she was the first female mechanic back home. Took over after your great-grandfather hurt his back and couldn’t work. She really made the family to be who they are today.”_

_“Okay.”_ _~~Peter~~ _ _thought for a second. “Then I’m Sleipnir now.”_

_Then her parents smiled and brought her into another hug, and Sleipnir knew that it was going to be okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is. And no, the author does not romanticize abuse in any way shape or form. The point was to...I dunno, I needed a sudden reaction from a parent, and that was taken from a short film that I saw. And yes, Sleipnir's father did literally get some sense knocked into him by Von Pinn.
> 
> As for Von Pinn's somewhat crude description of being trans, that is how I, a teenage trans male, would describe the concept of "transgender" to a 4yo who has never heard the term.
> 
> Other than this one awful night, Sleipnir actually has the most functional family out of all the characters! This is not a high bar, please refrain on looking at any of the adults (by adult I mean like Klaus's age, I know most of our characters are legally adults but like, college age ones) of Girl Genius for any parenting advice ever.
> 
> As always, I do appreciate feedback as long as it is constructive.
> 
> k imma play d&d now


	6. Seffie and Martellus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seffie doesn't remember a time when Martellus didn't protect her.
> 
> Martellus just wants Father gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really, really dark guys. I know, I know, all of these are dark. But just the setup is gonna be this bad, okay? It will get better, and I'm pretty sure I only have two chapters left, maybe three.
> 
> TW for child abuse
> 
> enjoy, but it does get really dark, you have been warned.

_ Seffie doesn’t remember her mother. Neither does Martellus, she died when he wasn’t even two years old. But Father does. _

_ And she wishes he didn’t. _

_ Seffie’s mother died having her, and Father blames her for that. He goes out and does stuff, and then he comes home, smelling bad, sometimes with a bottle, and he’s always angry. Especially at Seffie. _

_ Sometimes Martellus can figure out when Father is coming home, and he hides Seffie somewhere and then does something stupid that makes Father angry at Martellus. Then Martellus is punished, and thrown into their room, and Seffie helps him. _

_ “You don’t have to do that for me.” Seffie said this one night as she pressed an old t-shirt to Martellus’s bleeding cheek. _

_ “He hurts me less than he hurts you, and I can defend myself. You can’t, and you can hide better. Besides, I have to protect you. That’s what big brothers do.” _

_ They hugged, and fell asleep in each other’s arms. _

* * *

_ Family gatherings were terrible. Cousins were annoying, and there was always drama. But at least Seffie could play with Colette, the neighbor’s daughter, and Martellus loved playing with all of Grandfather’s big huskies. _

_ Family gatherings also meant that Father would be less upset for a few days; no injuries, no pain or punishments, and even baths! Actual, long baths, not the baths that Martellus forced her to have when Father went out in the evening. _

_ That’s why family gatherings, as terrible as the actual event was, were blessings that should not be thrown away. _

* * *

_ When Seffie first went to school, Father stopped punishing her in noticable ways. No more bruises on her face or neck, they were all on her arms and legs and body, where they could be covered up. Seffie would still be pushed in the closet for being too loud, but at least now she got baths once a week so she wouldn’t smell bad at school. _

_ Seffie was growing bigger, too. Maybe soon she would be able to defend herself from Father, and Martellus wouldn’t have to protect her anymore. _

_ Maybe it would all be okay. _

* * *

_ Seffie was so wrong. _

_ She was sitting behind the couch, Martellus standing guard with a baseball bat he got from a friend. Father was angry, so so angry. Martellus was shaking, but he still stood in front of Seffie to protect her. _

_ “Where are you little shits? Come out and face me, cowards!” Father was loud, he was coming into the room they were in, they were deaddeaddeaddead- _

_ “Right here, Father.” And Martellus hit Father in the gut with a baseball bat. _

_ Father howled, and used the bottle he was holding to hit Martellus in the face. The bottle shattered, and Martellus stumbled back, and hit the floor. He was lying down, unconscious. _

_ “Hey, bitch, where are you?” Father was coming behind the couch now, and Martellus was hurt, on the ground, what to do whattodowhattodo-? _

_ The bat. _

_ As Father reached for Seffie, the little eight-year-old dove past him, sneaking through his legs, and grabbed the bat. As Father tried to grab Seffie, she jumped on the couch and climbed on the armrest. _

_ Father tried to hit her, but he was too slow. Seffie brought the bat down on Father’s head once, and again, and again until he was lying on the ground with Martellus. _

* * *

_ Martellus woke up to his sister desperately shaking him. He was dazed, and looked around at Seffie, with blood on her hands, and Father, who lay on the floor, head bleeding, unconscious. _

_ “We need to get out of here.” _

_ And they left. Martellus grabbed Father’s old, beaten up bike, and lowered the seat (it was a simple screw mechanism, not hard to figure out). He then climbed onto it and told Seffie to get on the back wheel and hold onto him. _

_ They biked for miles, but Seffie was smart and had memorized the way to Grandma’s. As soon as they got there, Grandma saw them, bleeding and beaten, and brought them in immediately. She then called 911, and saw to it that the kids were safe. _

_ Martellus was checked out by an EMT. He (and Seffie) both had several bad injuries, and broken bones that had never healed right. Martellus had a mild concussion. _

_ Father was in jail. They were promised that he would never, ever be able to hurt them again. Seffie and Martellus were taken in by Grandma, who was more than willing to look after them. _

_ They changed schools, started going to the one that Tarvek, Violetta and Anevka all went to. And for once, things did turn out okay in the end. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, dark. I don't know why I wrote Seffie and Tweedle's backstory as so dark, but I did...for whatever reason.
> 
> As always, please give feedback/advice.
> 
> thank you, stay safe and wash your hands!


	7. Axel Higgs and the rest of the Jaegers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Jaegers have served the Heterodynes for generations, and now they watch from afar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is really short, guys, but important exposition and stuff. I'll also try to write the next (and final) chapter in this work within the next 2 hours so I can finish this tonight!
> 
> enjoy

_ Gkika “Mama Gkika” Jaeger owned many dogs. And a bar. And was the standing owner of the Heterodyne Shop, a small engineering shop across from the bar complete with a forge, electronics workshops, a carpentry workshop, and much more. _

_ She and her family, with her many brothers and uncles and her sons, had been assistants for the place for as long as anyone could remember; since the town was founded. The family there was once very rich, and very selfish, hoarding all of the money and such to themselves, buying up businesses and real estate and such all over the city, essentially driving people out of house and home. There were even rumors that some of the old Heterodynes had some ties in drug dealing and many other highly illegal activities. _

_ But that was before Bill and Barry had taken over the shop. They essentially gave their properties to other tenants, cut all ties to the criminal activity in the city, and began teaching free classes in the shop. _

_ Mama Gkika and her family watched as this changed, and as the Heterodynes became a blessing on the town instead of a curse. _

_ But then it all changed. _

_ Bill fell in love with the bitch that was Lucrezia, the Lucrezia who had sent Klaus away to a different country, the Lucrezia who burned down the shop, the Lucrezia who stole her children and disappeared. _

_ Bill and Barry had searched endlessly, until Barry, after losing Bill who-knows-where, found Klaus Barry Heterodyne and Agatha Heterodyne beat up, starved, dirty and broken, barely alive. He brought them back, only to disappear again to find his brother and leaving the children in the hands of the old family friends, the Clays. He said that it was not time for them to know their heritage, not until he returned with Bill. _

_ So Mama Gkika watched as the children grew up from afar. As they grew to be smart and capable, and made friends and learned. _

_ And Mama Gkika too, watched her family flourish and grow. She watched her adopted son, Axel Higgs, grow into a capable young man, a sailor who was stronger and tougher than anything she knew. She watched her three nephews, Maxim, Dimo and Oggie get arrested and perform insane exploits all over the city. She watched her young cousin, Jenka become the first in the family to truly be able to tame a half wolf. _

_ She, and the rest of the Jaeger family kept an eye on the shop of their old masters from across the street in their bar, waiting until the young heirs would be ready to take on the forge. _

_ They began to contract with Klaus Wulfenbach when he returned, in order to help him start up a small business. Some of Mama Gkika’s cousins attempted to make a move on the woman he paid to care for his son, Von Pinn (these cousins also required significantly more trips to the hospital emergency room than the rest of the family), while the rest of the family worked. _

_ And waited. _

_ Until the Heterodyne would work in the shop, cutting the wood, shaping the metal, creating the circuits, and building up the world once again. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, I told you it was short.
> 
> once again, i'll try to get the next chapter up in the next 2 hours, but might not be able to till tomorrow
> 
> please give feedback and advice
> 
> k imma go write the rest of this now


	8. Agatha, Klaus Barry, and the rest of their family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agatha doesn't really remember how bad it was. Klaus Barry wasn't there.
> 
> But they still remember the fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last one, friends! I told you I'd get it up tonight, and while it technically is the morning, I'm taking this one.
> 
> TW for child abuse and neglect and stuff
> 
> Enjoy!

_ Agatha was cold. _

_ She was so, so cold. Her brother, Klaus Barry-but-she-calls-him-K.B, was holding her tightly, wrapping her in a thin fleece blanket, trying to warm her up. The bruises on his face were still fresh, and the cut on his lip was still bleeding. _

_ Agatha was lucky, she supposed. K.B. was always the one who had to endure the hits. Agatha would be pushed in the closet, starved, and nearly frozen, but never hit. _

_ The White Women, as Agatha called them, with their pale skin and haunting eyes and big spiders, were the “caretakers” of the two siblings. They sometimes gave food and water, occasionally clean clothes and a bath to Agatha if there were guests and she had to make her mother happy, but very rarely. _

_ And when there were guests, there was disappointment. No matter what, she’d screw things up. Always. _

_ The closet door creaked open, to reveal a White Woman. “Stay there, boy.” She kicked K.B. away from Agatha. “Follow, Holy Child. We must prepare you for the next gathering.” _

* * *

_ Agatha was standing there in front of a bunch of people in fancy clothes, who kept talking about how “great” she would be. Half of them had bright red hair, and all of them listened and obeyed her mother’s every word. _

_ All of them were scary. _

_ “The Holy Child, my daughter, Agatha,” her mother listened to her as she raised Agatha above her head, “will be great one day. Sacred. She will lead you all.” _

_ “May I hold the Holy Child?” One of the red-haired men asked, reaching out for Agatha, who kicked him away.  _

_ “Agatha,” her mother pressed down on the part of her shoulder and chest that hurt, “behave. Let Aaronev hold you.” _

_ The man picked up Agatha, and began to poke her all over. “Yes, a fine specimen. She will make a lovely subject for the Circle.” Agatha tried to kick him again, and he handed her back to her mother. _

_ “Vrin, take Agatha back and feed her. She was not well behaved with Aaronev.” _

_ Agatha gulped and prepared as Vrin took her to the back room and the closet, where she would stay for much longer. _

* * *

_ This was how life was for them, until Agatha was four. _

_ That’s when the man who saved them came. _

_ He broke into the house, shot half the White Women, opened the closet door, and saw Agatha and K.B, sitting in a pile of filth, covered with blood and shivering and shaking, he wasted no time in scooping them both up and leaving immediately. _

_ Agatha tried to fight back against him, but she was so tired. So, so tired. _

_ She fell asleep before they even made it to the car. _

* * *

_ Agatha woke up in a big, soft, white bed, with a tube in her arm and K.B. in the bed next to her, bandaids on his face. The doctor came in and gave her an apple to eat, and talked about what was happening. About how the man who took them, called Barry, was their uncle. He had broken into their mother’s house and killed half the people there, in order to find K.B. (he didn’t know that Agatha existed until he saw her). _

_ Agatha asked if she could see him, but he was in jail, because he killed people and broke into a house, and kidnapped them. But he wasn’t there for long. The next day, word came that he had escaped, and left a note in his cell calling on old friends to care for the children. _

* * *

_ When Agatha and K.B. met Adam and Lilith for the first time, they didn’t know what to expect. _

_ They definitely didn’t expect their own rooms with actual beds, a bathroom (that they didn’t really know how to use), multiple meals a day, and not getting hurt when they misbehaved. _

_ “I want to stay here forever.” K.B. said this after living there for one day. _

_ “Well, we’ll see about that my dear,” Lilith said, as Adam picked KB up and rocked him around. _

* * *

_ But they couldn’t. _

_ Their mother was there, on the porch, just a week later, with what Agatha later learned was Child Protective Services, and a court order. _

_ Because Barry had illegally taken the children, their mother could file a case to get them back. And she did, and now CPS was there to take them away. _

_ Adam and Lilith fought this, of course, but “they had to take up in court” if they had an issue. _

* * *

_ K.B. and Agatha had to live with their mother for the next month. And the month after that, and after that. It went from court to “home” to party to the weird things they did with Agatha in the chair and the chappel.  _

_ Those were the worst months of Agatha’s life. _

_ After a while, a CPS worker came in to see one of the White Women beating K.B. They were both taken, and put in foster home after foster home, where kids teased them and laughed at them and no one listened and there was no stability. _

_ Until when Agatha was five, and they went back to court one last time. _

_ This time, their mother was nowhere to be found. This time, Adam and Lilith won. This time, Agatha and K.B. got to go with them. _

_ They got to go home. _

* * *

_ When Agatha was six, she started school. _

_ When Agatha was seven, Uncle Barry came back and gave her a cool locket with a picture of her dad in it. _

_ When Agatha was eight, she started making friends in school. _

_ And after a few years, Agath barely remembered the gatherings and the weird chappel. Yes, she remembered the court, and the foster homes, and had vague memories of K.B. wrapping her in the thin fleece blanket in the stinky closet, trying to warm her up. _

_ But the worst? The worst was over. _

_ Agatha was safe. _

_ She was home. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Backstory is done, folks! On to the actual plot!
> 
> The next part is gonna cover elementary school, and have mostly the Castle Wulfenbach gang, and I'm looking forward to writing it.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this, as always I am ready for constructive criticism.
> 
> thank you and goodnight!

**Author's Note:**

> backstory backstory the end. yeah there will be quite a few of those until everyone gets a bit of backstory.
> 
> please give advice/feedback/constructive criticism, thank you and goodnight!


End file.
